Abstract: The Vallejo family has deep roots in the New World, and in California particularly. General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo’s ancestors
came to the New World with the first conquistadors in the late fifteenth century. Several held prominent positions: Don PedroVallejo,
for example, was viceroy of New Spain. General Vallejo’s father, Don Ignacio Vallejo, was a member of Father Junipero Serra’s
military guard and was with him when he came to California in 1769 to begin missionizing among the California Indians. General
Vallejo’s wife, Francisca Carrillo, also came from a prominent California family. Her great-grandmother came to California
from Sinaloa as a young widow with the second Anza Expedition of 1775-1776. The collection includes material from 1748 to
1996 and best represents the life and interests of General Vallejo’s seventh child, Platon. Much of the legal and financial
papers, the correspondence, and personal papers located in the Vallejo Family Documents reflect Platon’s legal and financial
dealings, his interest in California history and the history of his own family in California, Vallejo genealogy, and the Suisun
Indians.

creator:
Vallejo Family

Biographical note

The Vallejo family has deep roots in the New World, and in California particularly. General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo’s ancestors
came to the New World with the first conquistadors in the late fifteenth century. Several held prominent positions: Don PedroVallejo,
for example, was viceroy of New Spain. General Vallejo’s father, Don Ignacio Vallejo, was a member of Father Junipero Serra’s
military guard and was with him when he came to California in 1769 to begin missionizing among the California Indians. General
Vallejo’s wife, Francisca Carrillo, also came from a prominent California family. Her great-grandmother came to California
from Sinaloa as a young widow with the second Anza Expedition of 1775-1776.

General Vallejo was born in Monterey in 1808, the eighth of thirteen children. He was groomed for leadership from a young
age by several Alta Californian governors. After training as a cadet in the Mexican Army, the Governor of Mexico appointed
him the head of the San Francisco garrison (1833), and then the military commander of the northern part of the state. In 1836,
he supported a short-lived revolt that sought independence for California from Mexico. Vallejo was critical of Mexican government,
and consistently identified with those Mexican liberals who argued for the separation of civil and religious authority in
government. For this reason, he supported both the 1836 revolt and the US takeover of California in 1848.

Despite his support of the takeover, Vallejo’s treatment at the hands of US forces was not always kind. He was imprisoned
for a short while during the Bear Flag Rebellion (1846). During his imprisonment, much of his estate was looted. He sued the
US government for damages caused to his personal property and land during the war with Mexico. He recovered only a fraction
of what his claims were worth. He also lost land and property to squatters, lawsuits, drought and financial mismanagement
by his son-in-law and power-of-attorney John Frisbie. In his later years, his landholdings were reduced to a two hundred acre
ranch called Lachryma Montis. In short, Vallejo’s financial status was never stable after the US takeover.

Despite these difficulties, Vallejo was elected to the state senate in 1849, and in 1850 donated the land for a state capitol
at Vallejo. He had a deep interest in the history of his state, and accumulated a great amount of official documentation as
a result of his holding various positions within California government during the Spanish, Mexican and American periods. He
wrote a five-volume manuscript entitled History of California which was unfortunately lost when one of his homes burned down.
Eventually, he donated all of his records to Hubert Bancroft, who employed them in his own historical writings. Several of
Vallejo’s children became prominent in their own right. His son Platon Vallejo became a well-respected doctor. Epifania Vallejo
became California’s first woman daguerrotypist. Many of his children married into locally prominent Anglo families. General
Vallejo died on January 18, 1890. Francisca Vallejo died soon after, on 1891 January 30. Judie A. Williams is the granddaughter
of Francesco Vallejo McGettigan (great-granddaughter of M.G. Vallejo). For further reference see: Myrtle M. McKittrick, Vallejo,
Son of California. Oregon: Binfords and Mort, 1944. Alan Rosenus,
General M. G. Vallejo and the Advent of the Americas. Albuquerque: UNM Press, 1995.

Custodial history

The collection was under the stewardship of Francesca Vallejo McGettigan, great granddaughter of General Vallejo. Ms. Judie
A. Williams donated the collection to the Autry from 2001 to 2004.

Scope and contents

This collection best represents the life and interests of General Vallejo’s seventh child, Platon. Much of the legal and financial
papers, the correspondence, and personal papers located in the Vallejo Family Documents reflect Platon’s legal and financial
dealings, his interest in California history and the history of his own family in California, Vallejo genealogy, and the Suisun
Indians. The correspondence, for example, is mostly comprised of letters written to or from Platon Vallejo. The Personal Papers
are, in fact, almost entirely comprised of materials that he generated or collected including his own hand-written accounts
of dramatic past events (the elopement of Josefa Carrillo and Captain Henry Fitch or narrative of the life of Ramona Carrillo
Pacheco, Platon’s aunt) and Vallejo genealogies. The Legal and Financial Papers contain receipts for purchases he made and
for taxes he paid, as well as one version of his will written on the back of an envelope.

Also included in the Legal and Financial Papers are land titles to property within the city of Vallejo – including several
copies of the original grant of land made to General Vallejo by the Mexican government in 1844. General Vallejo founded the
city of Vallejo in 1850, but soon gave his son-in-law John B. Frisbie power of attorney over the land. Frisbie was the person
responsible for encouraging development of the town and is considered its true founder. The land grant papers reflect Frisbie’s
considerable involvement in the development of the city of Vallejo (see www.visitvallejo.com).

The California Mission Documents, which were clearly collected by General Vallejo, were eventually Platon’s. Several of the
documents, such as the account of Junipero Serra’s burial or the Alta California patentes, have letters attached to them indicating
that the General had passed them on to Platon. Also included is a set of Edward Vischer photographs of California missions,
which Vischer presented to General Vallejo as a gift. While at least four generations of the Vallejo family are represented
in the Vallejo Family Photographs, Platon, his wife Lily Wiley, and their four children are among the most substantially represented
(along with M.G. Vallejo and several of Platon’s brothers and sisters). The photograph collection is comprised mainly of cabinet
cards and carte de visites from the late nineteenth century; but also included is a rare salt print of Leo Cornell Frisbie
(grandson of the General) as well as several tintypes.

Finally, the Suisun Documents are a collection of English-Suisun or Suisun-English vocabularies that Platon Vallejo created
for the most part in the nineteenth century. Chief Solano, head of the Suisuns, was a strong ally of General Vallejo’s and
assisted him in putting down several Indian uprisings in northern California in the mid-nineteenth century. Solano spoke Spanish
fluently, and converted to Christianity. Platon Vallejo was able to develop close friendships with Suisun individuals during
his childhood and early adolescence as a result of the General’s close collaboration with Chief Solano. Platon, in fact, learned
to speak the Suisun language fluently. The collection contains several of Platon’s hand-written personal recollections of
the daily life of the Suisun. The vocabularies themselves reflect Platon’s interest in teaching the Suisun about Christianity,
since they contain translation of bible verse and prayers into Suisun. There are few, if any, extant Suisun vocabularies,
catechisms or descriptions of Suisun life. As such, the Suisun Documents represent a rare and important set of materials for
the history and linguistics of northern California Indians.

Despite the fact that a good portion of the material appears to have been collected by Platon Vallejo, the papers as a whole
provide an intimate look at the Vallejo family during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Letters between General
Vallejo and Platon Vallejo reveal the close bonds that linked the family. The California mission materials reflect the deep
interest that the General and Platon Vallejo had in documenting the religious life of the time period. The production of genealogies,
personal recollections and the meticulous collection of photographs of over 60 family members from four generations shows
a deep commitment to keeping track of the life and growth of the Vallejo family itself. And the legal and financial papers
illustrate the daily financial management of Vallejo households in the nineteenth century as well as the running of some of
the business interests of the Vallejo family.

Preferred citation

Autry National Center; [Object id #].

Arrangement

Series 1: Vallejo Family Documents, 1767-1979

Series 2: Suisun Documents, 1860-1996 (Bulk, 1976-1996)

Series 3: Vallejo Family Photographs, 1827-1902, undated

Access

Collection is open for research. Appointments to view materials are required. To make an appointment please visit http://theautry.org/research/research-rules-and-application
or contact library staff at rroom@theautry.org.

Use

Copyright has not been assigned to the Autry National Center. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts
must be submitted in writing to the Autry Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Autry National Center
as the custodian of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must
also be obtained by the reader.

Acquisition

Donated by Ms. Judie A. Williams, 2001-2004.

Processing history

Processed by Tracey Brown, 2002 December 26. Finding aid revised by Anna Liza Posas, 2012. Final processing of collection
and publication of finding aid made possible by a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Vallejo, Lily Wiley

Vallejo, Mariano Guadalupe, 1808-1890

Vallejo, Platon

Albumen prints

Books

Cabinet photographs

California -- History -- 19th century

California, Northern -- History

Correspondence

Indians of North America -- California

Miwok Indians -- History

Miwok Indians -- Missions -- California

Miwok languages

Patwin Indians

Photograph albums

Photographs

Spanish mission buildings -- California

Suisun Indians

Suisun language

Tintypes

Visiting cards

Vallejo Family Documents Series 1:
1767-1979

Junipero Serra burial (account),1875

Scope and contents

Object id#'s: 2001.43.8.1 to .3

Handwritten account, in Spanish, of Father Serra’s internment which occurred on the 29th of August, 1784 in the Mission Church
of San Carlos at Monterey. Attached to the account is a handwritten letter from Hubert Bancroft to Platon Vallejo, explaining
that the copy of the account had been made by General Vallejo himself. Vallejo asked Bancroft to deliver the account to Platon
– which he did on March 5, 1875. The file also contains several English transcriptions (typed and handwritten) of the account.
The original account was written by Father Francisco Palou; General Vallejo’s transcription of the account was certified by
Angel Casanova, Cura of Monterey, in February of 1875.

Patentes – Alta California,1806

Scope and contents

Object id#: 2001.43.3

Copies (in Spanish) of numerous patentes that circulated in the Alta California missions in 1806. Patentes were basically
letters of instruction and/or information that were circulated to priests to guide them in their daily running of the missions.
They therefore contain information on Church policy as well as the more mundane aspects of daily life at the missions. Attached
to the patentes is a letter (in Spanish) addressed to Platon from General Vallejo, which simply acknowledges that the General
is delivering the document to Platon. It is dated March 12, 1875.

The Pioneer Collection: mission sketches and publications of Edward Vischer.

Scope and contents

Edward Vischer presented a set of albumen photographs of his mission sketches, his book Franciscan Missions of Upper California,
as well as various other materials to General Vallejo on 1878 November 15. The material was given to Vallejo in an inscribed
and embossed leather folio which is included here.

Franciscan Missions of Upper California: Notes on the Californian Missions, A Supplement to Vischer’s Pictorial of California,
Dedicated to its Patrons. San Francisco: Winterburn & Co,
1872

Scope and contents

Folder 2001.52.7

Signed copy of book presented to General Vallejo from Vischer. Has several hand-written notes laid in: the first, at page
six, describes what happened to several of the last priests to be stationed in California. The second, at page 43, describes
the ways in which General Vallejo assisted Vischer in completing a number of sketches of California missions.

Leather folio and documents, 1878.

Scope and contents

Folders 2001.52.1 - .2; 2001.52.5.1-.5

Leather portfolio, cabinet card of an elderly man, newspaper article about Vischer’s book The Missions of Upper California,
copy of Vischer’s address given at the dedication of his mission sketches to the Society of California Pioneers, and envelope
which contained all of the albumen prints of sketches presented to Vallejo.

Sketches: Missions North of Pt. Conception,1864-1878

Scope and contents

Folders 2001.52.9.1; 2001.52.8.3-.18

Envelope, cardboard folio and albumen photographs of sketches of the missions at Sonoma and San Rafael, San Carlos, Santa
Clara, San Jose, Dolores, San Juan Bautista, La Soledad, San Antonio, San Miguel, San Luis Obispo, Santa Ines, and La Purisima
and Santa Cruz.

Sketches: Missions South of Pt. Conception,1861-1877

Scope and contents

Folders 2001.52.8.1, 2001.52.8.2, 2001.52.9.2-.13

Envelope, cardboard folio, and albumen photographs of sketches of the missions at Santa Barbara, San Buenaventura, San Fernando,
San Gabriel, San Luis Rey, San Juan Capistrano, and San Diego.

Sketches: Point Cypress and the Montecito,1865-1871

Scope and contents

Folder 2001.52.6

Mounted albumen photographs of sketches of Point Cypress and the Montecito, Santa Barbara.

Vischer-Vallejo Correspondence,1878

Scope and contents

Folders 2001.52.4.1-.2; 2001.52.3.1-.3

Three letters: one from Vischer to Vallejo, dated November 15, 1878, describing the sketches and other material he is giving
to him; a second from Vallejo to Vischer dated October 28, 1878, introducing his son Platon; a third from Vallejo to Platon,
dated the same day, discussing the work of H. Bancroft.

San Francisco de Asis,undated

Scope and contents

Object id#: 2001.43.2

Handwritten account of the founding of the mission of San Francisco de Asis. In Spanish, addressed to “Reverendisimo Arzobispo,
Venerable Clero, Señoras y Caballeros.”

Legal and Financial Papers

George Higson-Platon Vallejo lawsuit,1880 November - 1881 January

Scope and contents

Object id#: 2001.43.53

Higson, an “insolvent debtor,” is asking for settlement of financial matters in an unnamed dispute. One folio.

Insurance Policies (Platon Vallejo), 4b:
1876-1890

Scope and contents

Object id#'s: 2002.1.8.6.1to .16

Numerous fire and insurance policies issued to Platon Vallejo.

Land Titles,1844-1877

Scope and contents

Object id#'s: 2001.43.4 to.7

Sales of land in the Town and City of Vallejo, 1844-1877. Includes a copy of the original grant of land made to General Vallejo
from the Mexican Government on June 19, 1844. John B. Frisbie involved in many of the transactions. Folders also include titles
to Lot No. 6 in Block No. 229 in the City of Vallejo and titles of Lot No. 9, Block 283 in the City of Vallejo.

Jacob Leese Land Claim,1839

Scope and contents

Folder 2002.1.8.1

Jacob Leese requesting a piece of land to graze cattle and horses (in Spanish). Includes a hand-drawn topographical map. Leese
was the husband of General Vallejo’s sister, Rosalia.

Vallejo family correspondence, most written by or to Platon Vallejo (Spanish and English). Includes letters written by the
General to Platon while he was studying medicine in New York, as well as correspondence Platon received while serving during
the Civil War.

“Field Life in the South” or Service in the Army during the War,undated

Scope and contents

Folder 2001.43.42

A personal account of military service during the Civil War.

Fitch-Carrillo Wedding (account),undated

Scope and contents

Folder 2001.43.41

Handwritten account of the elopement of Captain Henry Fitch and Josefa Carrillo.

Genealogy – Carrillo Family (Spanish),1870

Scope and contents

Folder 2001.43.16.1-.2

Hand-written genealogy of the Carrillo family. A letter from the General to Platon is attached, explaining that he had copied
the genealogy in his own hand.

Genealogy – Vallejo Family (English),undated

Scope and contents

Folder 2001.43.17.1-.3

Translation of a document written by Platon Vallejo, which describes the activities and families of General Vallejo, his father
and grandfather in the New World. It does not appear to be a translation of either the Carrillo genealogy or the limpieza
de sangre of Don Vallejo. Also enclosed is a letter written by Kevin McGettigan to Dr. Elliot Evans in 1972, requesting that
he translate the Carrillo and Vallejo family genealogies.

Genealogy – Platon Vallejo Family (English),undated

Scope and contents

Folder 2001.43.14

Typed genealogy of P. Vallejo’s children and their families.

Genealogy – Vallejo Family (Spanish),1806

Scope and contents

Folders 2001.43.15.1-.2

Limpieza de sangre of Don Ignacio Vicente Ferrer Vallejo, General Vallejo’s father. Limpieza de sangres were investigations
conducted into the backgrounds of prominent people or those about to be married to ensure a pure Spanish lineage. Several
letters (written in 1867) from the General to Platon are attached.

The Suisun Documents are a collection of English-Suisun or Suisun-English vocabularies that Platon Vallejo created for the
most part in the nineteenth century. Chief Solano, head of the Suisuns, was a strong ally of General Vallejo’s and assisted
him in putting down several Indian uprisings in northern California in the mid-nineteenth century. Solano spoke Spanish fluently,
and converted to Christianity. Platon Vallejo was able to develop close friendships with Suisun individuals during his childhood
and early adolescence as a result of the General’s close collaboration with Chief Solano. Platon, in fact, learned to speak
the Suisun language fluently. The collection contains several of Platon’s hand-written personal recollections of the daily
life of the Suisun. The vocabularies themselves reflect Platon’s interest in teaching the Suisun about Christianity, since
they contain translation of bible verse and prayers into Suisun. There are few, if any, extant Suisun vocabularies, catechisms
or descriptions of Suisun life. As such, the Suisun Documents represent a rare and important set of materials for the history
and linguistics of northern California Indians.

Despite the fact that a good portion of the material appears to have been collected by Platon Vallejo, the papers as a whole
provide an intimate look at the Vallejo family during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Letters between General
Vallejo and Platon Vallejo reveal the close bonds that linked the family. The California mission materials reflect the deep
interest that the General and Platon Vallejo had in documenting the religious life of the time period. The production of genealogies,
personal recollections and the meticulous collection of photographs of over 60 family members from four generations shows
a deep commitment to keeping track of the life and growth of the Vallejo family itself. And the legal and financial papers
illustrate the daily financial management of Vallejo households in the nineteenth century as well as the running of some of
the business interests of the Vallejo family.

Correspondence between Kevin McGettigan, Judie McGettigan Williams and various people and institutions about donating the
Suisun vocabularies.
1976-1996

Scope and contents

Object id#'s: 2001.43.30.1to.3 and 2001.43.30.7to .22

Newspaper clippings,1981-1984

Scope and contents

Object id#'s: 2001.43.30.4 to.6

Three newspaper clippings from the
San Francisco Examiner and
Ventura County Star about Indian histories and activities in the area.

Platon Vallejo’s personal recollections of Suisun life.1908, undated

Scope and contents

Object id#'s: 2001.43.1, .10, .11

This material includes three documents. A 1908 letter written to Mrs. Emily Witset by Platon Vallejo which goes into detail
about Suisun activities in the area during his adolescence and early adult life. It includes detail about Chief Francisco
Solano, General Vallejo’s chief Suisun ally, as well as Tomó, Platon Vallejo’s primary informant concerning the Suisun practices
and beliefs. A second group of loose papers discusses missionary efforts to convert the Suisun to Christianity. It includes
a translation of the Lord’s Prayer into Suisun. A third is titled “Legend of ‘Temelpa’ – ‘by the Sea’ (by Tomó…).”

English-Suisun Vocabulary, typed,undated

Scope and contents

Object id#'s: 2001.43.31.1 to .2

Unbound, typed translation of English numbers, phrases and words into Suisun. The first file contains the typed original;
the second file contains a photocopy of the original.

Suisun-English Vocabulary, typed,undated

Scope and contents

Object id#'s: 2001.43.32.1 to .2

Unbound, typed translation of Suisun numbers, phrases and words into English. The first file contains the typed original;
the second file contains a photocopy of the original. This vocabulary contains the same information as the English-Suisun
vocabulary; it simply reverses the order of the translation (from Suisun-English rather than English-Suisun).

Suisun-English Vocabulary, handwritten,circa 1860-1880

Scope and contents

Object id#'s: 2001.43.19.1 to .9 and 2001.43.20

Platon Vallejo’s miscellaneous, handwritten translations of Suisun words and phrases into English. Also contains a translation
of The Apostles’ Creed and The Lord’s Prayer into Suisun. First file contains originals; second file contains photocopies
of these originals.

English-Suisun Vocabulary, blank booklet series,circa 1860-1880

Scope and contents

Object id#'s: 2001.43.21 to .29

Handwritten translations of English words into Suisun, contained in a series of nine blank booklets. Booklet #3 has several
drawings of a hand in Platon Vallejo’s attempt to translate Suisun into sign language. Booklet #9 contains translations of
The Creed, The Lord’s Prayer and The Ten Commandments into Suisun. Each file contains the original blank booklet and two photocopies
of the booklet (except for numbers 8 and 9, which only contain one copy).